Rattlers Dominate in Season Finale, Defeat Boston 23-14

The Rochester Rattlers were rolling on all cylinders Saturday, August 10th , as they used their highest goal output of the season to defeat the Boston Cannons 23-14 in their final game of 2013.

Rochester never trailed Saturday night, and used a 7-2 first quarter to register their sixth win of the year, and finish the season with a 6-8 final record. Captain Matt Striebel scored three two-point goals, and rookie sensation Dave Lawson registered five points as the Rattlers defeated the Cannons for the second time this season.

The first quarter was all Rochester, as they outscored Boston 7-2 in the first frame. Lawson opened up the night 3:55 in after a slick face dodge inside, and made it 2-0 after a strong ally dodge just under three minutes later. Matt Poskay would score Boston’s first of the night at the 7:43 mark of the opening quarter, but Rochester’s Kyle Denhoff and Jordan MacIntosh would respond to put the Rattlers ahead 4-1. With 4:13 left to play, Cannon’s leading scorer Paul Rabil was able to sneak one past John Galloway to bring the score to 4-2, but the Rattlers would respond with three more goals before the end of the first. Rookie All-Star John Ranagan scored his first of the night at the 11:30 mark, with Matt Striebel, and Joel White finishing the quarter on a highlight real diving goal to bring Rochester into the second leading Boston, 7-2.

Boston started off the second quarter hot with a three goal run, starting with a Rabil goal just 47 second in. Will Manny would score the next goal for Boston, followed by a Brent Adams tally to cut the deficit to 7-5 with 12:45 remaining in the quarter. Following the Adams goal, Striebel would capitalize on a Rabil penalty for a two-point goal that made the score 9-5. Five minutes later, Striebel would score his second two-point score of the night to make it 11-5 with 5:33 left to play. Rochester would score once more before the end of the half, with a signature dodge and finish from Ranagan to bring the Rattlers into the half leading the Cannons 12-5.

Rochester picked up where they left off the first half, outscoring Boston 9-6 in the third quarter. 1:21 into the second half, Defenseman Tom Montelli used a nice roll dodge to beat Jordan Burke and to score his third of the season to bring the score to 13-5. Manny and Berger would score the next two goals for Boston to cut Rochester’s lead to 13-7, but 4:08 into the third, White picked up the ground ball from the face off and dished it off to Ned Crotty who finished it to increase the Rattlers lead to 14-7. Rochester would then go on a three goal run, starting at the 6:58 mark of the third, when Mike Tota would score his first of the year to make it 15-7. Lawson would tally the hat trick just under a minute later, and Michael Lazore would find his first of the year with 6:16 remaining in the third to bring the score to 17-8. Manny and Buchanon would score next for Boston, but Brett Schmidt would end that run off a John Ortolani feed for his first of the year to put Rochester up by eight. 59 seconds later, Striebel would fire his third two-pointer of the night, and eighth of the year to bring the score to 20-10, and Ranagan would score the hat trick at the 13:25 mark to bring Rochester into the fourth leading Boston 21-11.

The fourth quarter saw the least amount of action, with only five total goals being scored. Boston opened scoring 4:19 in with a Mike Stone goal, but MacIntosh would respond with his second of the night 2:23 later to make the score 22-12. Manny found his fourth just under three minutes later, but Schmidt would score his second of the night, and the season after another Ortolani feed to put the Rattlers up by 10, leading 23-13. Schmidt’s goal would serve to be Rochester’s last of the night, with a final score of 23-14.

Rattlers faceoff man John Ortolani went 14-38, while also picking up two assists in Rochester’s final game of the season. Galloway also made eight saves in the win.

Saturday night was the last time that Rochester will be in action in 2013, with Denver, Hamilton, Chesapeake, and Hamilton all claiming playoff spots. Make sure to keep checking www.rochesterrattlers.com and the Rattlers Facebook and Twitter pages for year-end stories and analysis.